The cornet is sometimes mistakenly considered the valved version of the bugle, although it was derived from the French Cornet de Poste and the Cor de Chasse – another signalling instrument. Keyed and valved bugles are two 19th century variants based on the standard bugle. Joseph Halliday invented the Key Bugle in England in 1817, with his patent design for the Royal Kent Bugle. This bugle was very popular and extensively used until about 1850. Richard Willis, later bandmaster of the United States Military Band at West Point is a notable example of keyed bugle music. Later on, the keyed bugle was replaced with the valved cornet. Often times, modern instruments classified as bugles are valved.

The cornet resembles the trumpet in most ways, but a trumpet has a “cylindrical bore” which resulting in a “bright, piercing sound”, while a cornet has a “continuously conical bore” resulting in a warmer sound [1]. In music, the bore of a wind instrument (including woodwind and brass) is its interior chamber. This defines a flow path through which air travels, which is set into vibration to produce sounds. The shape of the bore has a strong influence on the instrument’s timbre.